After starting the season in the NHL with Pittsburgh, being re-assigned back to Charlottetown in the QMJHL and then returning to the pro ranks in the AHL for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ postseason run, Sprong is hoping he has learned enough about going through adversity and taking things in stride to make a run at the NHL next fall. Read more »

Photo: Washington Capitals prospect Stanislav Galiev spent most of the 2015-16 season with the big club, but as a healthy scratch. (courtesy David Hahn/Icon Sportswire)

The Washington Capitals season once again came to a premature end in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That heartbreak could lead to NHL opportunities next season for a handful of prospects, including young winder Jakub Vrana.

A naturally-gifted Czech, Vrana highlights the Capitals end-of-season prospect awards, even though he dealt with a wrist injury and surgery this season. Read more »

Photo: Karpat Oulu forward and Carolina Hurricanes prospect Sebastian Aho (#16) turned in a strong 2015-16 season, winning gold at the U20 World Junior Championship and finishing among the top scorers in Liiga (courtesy of Karpat Oulu/Champions Hockey League via Getty Images)

If there was a theme to the season in Liiga in 2015-16 it can best be described by the old adage, “Youth shall be served.”

Much of the attention focused on 17-year-olds Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi — who barring any major surprises will be among the top three players picked in the 2016 NHL Draft. In terms of drafted forward prospects, three of their teammates on the gold medal champion U20 team also had big seasons and could be signing NHL contracts in the near future. Read more »

Photo: London Knights forward and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mitch Marner is currently the leading scorer at the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament, posting 13 points in just three games (courtesy of Rob Wallator/CHL Images)

Throughout this season, Prospect Impressions has been the home to a number of fantastic plays made by some of the brightest young hockey stars in the world. With last week’s special goaltending issue, we saw some of the best saves of the year. Now, it’s the skaters turn to strut their stuff.

In this first edition of a four-part series, we count down the Top 20 highlights of the season. Who do you think will end up number one? Read more »

Photo: After five years as a pro, Adam Larsson has become a cornerstone piece of the New Jersey Devils franchise. (courtesy Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

Following a lackluster 2010-11 season that saw the New Jersey Devils miss the postseason, good luck befell the organization as they won the lottery for the upcoming 2011 NHL Draft. Despite having only a 3.6 per cent chance of winning, the Devils moved up four positions in the first round, from eighth to fourth.

Photo: London Knights forwards Christian Dvorak (#10) and Mitch Marner (#93) along with linemate Matthew Tkachuk continued their offensive tear in the opening game of the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament (courtesy of Rob Wallator/CHL Images)

That isn’t an opinion, it is fact. And they have the numbers to back it up: the linemates combined for 129 points in just 18 OHL playoff games, and each player topped 100 points in the regular season. Read more »

Photo: Toronto Marlies defenseman and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Connor Carrick is the leading scorer in the 2016 AHL playoffs so far with 15 points in 12 games (courtesy of Graig Abel/Getty Images)

The 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs are in the Conference Finals stage, and in the East, it is Atlantic Division champion Hershey against North Division champion Toronto in a best-of-seven series that will see the winner play for the Calder Cup championship against the winner of Lake Erie and Ontario. Read more »

Photo: Buffalo Sabres prospect Daniel Catenacci had his first stint in the NHL this season, playing 11 games. He had 24 points in 50 games with Rochester of the AHL. (courtesy Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Looking back at the 2010-11 season for the Buffalo Sabres, it almost seems like an entire era ago. The team not only made the playoffs, but they finished second in the then-Northeast Division with 96 points, sporting a 43-29-10 record.

Photo: Edmonton Oilers prospect Anton Slepyshev was a surprising inclusion on the NHL squad for 11 games last season, but his upside remains an intriguing asset (courtesy of Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

Year after year for the past decade, the Edmonton Oilers have added top talents via the draft. Rather than building an enviable prospect pool, the team has only succeeded in constructing unbalanced rosters that finish near the bottom of the league standings. Still, the 2015 Draft gifted the Oilers one of the world’s best players, and several other young men who have learned the NHL game the hard way are coming into the primes of their careers. Will the supporting cast be enough to change the script in 2016-17? Only time will tell, but the Hockey’s Future prospect awards for 2015-16 serve to highlight some of the more encouraging signs from a mostly disappointing campaign.